2013.

I didn't realize that I was holding my breath waiting for something good to come until it suddenly became known that it wasn't going to happen. How devastating to all at once realize how much happiness you had riding on this one opportunity.

13 has always been my lucky number since I was born on a 13th day. My brother was born on the 31st. My mom always bets 1's and 3's. I remember thinking that 2013 would be the year that it all happened. I would have my shit together by then for sure. Of course, back then 2013 sounded like a far off futuristic land. This year was going to be my year. The year of Brittany. Thinking that now is almost laughable. What an idiot I was. Nothing has changed. Bad things happen to good people. There is no law that says you get a break just because you've had a shit past four months.

We didn't get the house we were putting offers in on. Even though our last bid was the asking price and it had been unsold on the market for months with no other interested buyers. Nope, sorry Brittany. No house, no engagement, no marriage, no children. Not that the thought of kids doesn't terrify me right now but it would be nice to have the rest of those things out of the way In the next couple of years so that when it wasn't so terrifying it would be a possibility. Thinking that I will be 30 in 5 years scares the living shit out of me. I'm so not ready to be 30. But maybe most 25 year olds think that.

I rented a storage unit yesterday to get all these boxes and pieces of furniture out of my parents house. I had been hesitating because I was pretty damn sure I would only end up needing the storage for a few months while we closed on the home and didn't want to waste the money storing it for such a short time. The guy at the storage company asked me how long I would be renting there for. I said hopefully not too long. We are still house hunting, even though I'm picky as hell and we are on a barely over minimum wage budget.

He said "that's what they all say."

Get Ready With Me Video!

Does anyone else love to watch people put their makeup on? I used to love having friends sleep over and watch them do their makeup in the morning - weird? Anyway, one of my favorite types of Youtube videos are the Get Ready With Me ones so I decided to try it out. 

If anyone of you guys have a Youtube account, please, PLEASE, subscribe! I would love to have people to chat with. And, if you post videos as well, I would love to see!

Cruelty - Free Beauty : Newest Favorites!

Hi guys! Long time, no talk! My love of trying new makeup products has grown so much in the last few months and I'm having so much fun with it. I've been really exploring the animal cruelty - free world and have discovered a few new (to me) brands. These are my favorite new products:

Milani Easy-Brow Pencil : Shade 03 Natural Taupe
I went back and forth between this shade and 02 Dark Brown but decided to give the taupe a try since I had recently read that you should buy your eyebrow products in a color a shade lighter than your natural brow color. Plus, my hair recently went to an even lighter shade of bleach blonde and I wanted something a little less dramatic. This pencil  has been great! It is a twist up pencil, so there is no sharpening necessary and it has a spoolie brush on the other end for super quick blending and brushing. It's available for $5.49 on the Milani website, but I found mine at CVS. (I think I payed a little over $7.00 for mine in store.)

e.l.f Studio High Definition Powder : Translucent
I'm a huge fan of e.l.f. products, especially anything from their Studio collection and this did not disappoint. I had been on the hunt for a good loose powder to set my makeup and heard rave reviews about this one "blurring" imperfections. I'm not sure that it blurred as much as I was expecting, but it definitely adds a softening effect. There is also a corrective yellow shade as well as a shimmer version available on the e.l.f. site and all shades are $6.00. I bought mine at Target (I've also seen it at Walmart) for the same price.

NYX Powder Blush : Pinched
I have never been impressed with blushes. I found that even though I have pale skin, they never showed up the way I wanted them to. Then I found the Wet 'n Wild Color Icon blushes, which showed up great but were so highly pigmented I found them difficult to apply. I had heard that this particular shade in the NYX Powder Blush line was comparable to the highly praised NARS Orgasm, so I gave it a go. It is gorgeous! It's a very pretty coral pink shade with some warm shimmer to it. It goes for $5.00 on the NYX website, but it's currently sold out. I found mine on Amazon.com for around the same price.

NYX Round Lipstick : Chic Red
I am a red lipstick collector. I gravitate toward them and I can't help myself. Even so, I was convinced that I didn't own the perfect shade of red worked well with both my pale complexion and my not always blindingly white smile. Chic Red is all of that for me. I was pleasantly surprised that it is also long lasting even though it's not advertised to be a long wear formula. Available for a crazy $4.00 on the NYX website (along with another 123 extremely tempting shades). I grabbed mine on Amazon.com for a bit more.

Real Techniques Makeup Brushes : Expert Face Brush
I have been hearing rave reviews about the Real Techniques brushes and always assumed they would be pricey - good thing I finally looked into them! This particular brush sells for $9.00 on the Real Techniques site and has quickly surpassed every other brush I own. I have been applying my foundation and blending in my concealer with the Expert Face Brush and am noticing that I'm using so much less product than I did with a sponge. The bristles are stiff enough to blend the product in but soft enough to be comfortable on skin. I will definitely be buying more of these brushes - I'm itching to order the whole Core Collection. I found mine on Amazon.com for a similar price as the website.

While, I've got you here :  I found a fantastic article on animal testing. What exactly it means, why it even exists, and what to look for in a product to ensure that your money isn't being used to pay for these tests to be done. Check out The Truth About Cruelty Free Beauty - Part One : What Is Animal Testing? And don't worry, the article is truthful and informative without being too graphic.

Beauty Things I Suck At - My First Video on YOUTUBE

My adorable (and hilarious) friend Sara inspired me to create a Youtube channel. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while, and I think now is a good time. I need some distraction from life. So, my first video is live on my Youtube channel! I'm a little nervous about it but I think it will be fun! If any of you have Youtube, please subscribe to my channel or let me know so I can find you!

24 Hours in NYC

After an incredibly emotional and heartbreaking week, my mom and I decided last minute that we were going to New York City for the weekend. We booked bus tickets, a hotel for a night, grabbed my best friend, and left. It was good to get away from such bad memories and a suddenly too quiet house.

We had cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery (How I missed REAL butter cream frosting!) and mostly just walked and felt the city. There is nothing like waking up in the morning and walking out onto a busy, sunny NYC street. I absolutely adore it.

We went to the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market and it was amazing. We immediately decided that our next NYC trip will consist of flea markets only.

Ashley "climbing" the wall of our hotel ala Spiderman, Candied almonds on the street - SO good!, I had to pose in front of Harry Winston, and, as always, we loved Anthropologie.

And the best part of the trip - I got to cross something off my bucket list and eat breakfast at Tiffany's on Sunday morning. I hummed moon river on the cab ride to 5th avenue and then looked in the window at the pretty diamond key necklaces. I was in heaven.

Now that I'm home, all the emotions that I was avoiding have caught up to me and I'm having a difficult time. Keeping busy seems to be the only thing that keeps my mind in an okay place.

Thank you for the sweet distraction, New York.

Office Job - The Necessities!

Office life. 9-5. Working the grind. I'm always looking for ways to make my work space a little happier. My desk is sort of comical. It's colorful and full of oddities. I have an empty glass coke bottle, tiny dog figurines, a wooden bobble aardvark (I think?), and a ton of photos, cards, and children's drawings. Other than all of those gems... These are my favorite things right now!

1. Pretty, bright flowers. The ones Christopher brought me for Valentines day are still going strong. Fun fact, I work in the same office as my mom and he brings her some every year too. Too cute! (Image Source)

2.) I like to have a few inspirational quotes around. They calm me. My favorite right now says "Note to self: RELAX. You are enough. You have enough. You do enough." I say this in my head like a mantra when I'm reaching my limit. (Image Source)

3.) Pink scissors. If you need to have them, they might as well be pretty. (Available here)

4.) Lunch container. I've been bringing lunch to work every day for over a month now to save money. I love being able to snack on healthy stuff throughout the day so I'm not famished when I get out. This one is awesome! I'm obsessed with it.

5.) Stress oil. I've been using this for the past few weeks and love it. After my hair stylist/cousin noticed that my hair was suddenly falling out from the stress of things going on at home, she ordered me Past Tense tension roll on oil. The smell alone works, but it also releases tightness in my shoulders and neck. I use it most at work, but also keep it in my purse.

6.) A candle that smells like nature. I have the Yankee Candle Beanswax one in Field of Dreams on my desk. Unfortunately, the wax is so low it no longer burns...this is my favorite scent ever and it is now discontinued. The dry wax still smells nice and I get a good whiff of it now and then. (I do have one jar packed away for when we buy a house - SO TEMPTING!)

7.) Skull Candy ear buds. Our office is small and usually filled with volunteers, interns, and loud employees so these are a must. Sometimes, I even just put them in my ears without plugging them into anything since they are great for noise cancelling.

8.) Lotion. I'm really bad at remembering to moisturize at home. When I'm sitting at my desk and need a break, that's usually the first thing I reach for. I have travel sizes of Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret lotions stashed.

 

9.) Travel tumbler with straw. My office recently got a water cooler and it was a big deal. I pack my cup full of ice in the morning and fill up when I get to work. My cup actually has babushkas all over it, but I wouldn't turn down the Kitty either.  

10.) Volkswagen Bug USB drive. Or as I like to call them, computer sticky thingies. This one's headlights flash when it's plugged in. Enough said. 

11.) Leopard file folders. These are probably my favorite thing at my desk. I have a super obsession with anything leopard and they make me happy every time I file anything. Money well spent.

12.) Insulated lunch bag. To go with my nifty lunch container. Insulated, so I don't have to worry about it fitting into the tiny office refrigerators. And, it's cute. When I leave work it just looks like a little handbag.

Do you work in an office? What are some of the things that keep you smiling while you're putting in your hours?

Stripes & Strawberries

My Etsy shop has been slacking along with all the other aspects of my life lately. (No time for anything except work and dealing with the personal stuff at home.) But, I did get a chance to quickly post a couple new items last week. One being this striped strawberry print skirt.

Isn't it adorable? If I weren't trying to purge my closet, I totally would have kept it. It reminds me of something that Cher Horowitz would have worn. To anyone interested, sorry! It sold almost immediately. But, I did post a couple of other cute things. One being an awesome vintage floral print suitcase.

p.s. - did you guys see that Urban Decay is having their friends and family sale? I finally bought their Naked Palette and am absolutely thrilled for it to arrive! My frugal side is only feeling the tiniest bit guilty. Even with the sale, the prices are far more than what I would usually spend on myself. When someone in my office asked if I wanted anything from the burrito place down the street I had to decline since I had just spent my weekly spending allowance on eyeshadow...